,,We have yet to find out if there will be a Belene NPP. I hope that the procedure will be successful because the project is important for Bulgaria as well as for the whole region.'' This was announced by Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova in the studio of "This morning".

Yesterday officially launched the procedure for choosing a strategic investor for the Belene NPP project. Up until now, the state-owned Chinese Nuclear Corporation, the Korean Hydroatomic Corporation and the French Areva have announced preliminary interest in the construction of Belene.

The Bulgarian Energy Minister expressed hope that all companies that have declared interest and to whom the country will send an invitation to confirm their interest and to make a request of interest within 90 days of its publication in the European Journal.

According to her, the blocking quota of the state is one of the conditions that largely protect the national interest.

,,Without the involvement of our Russian partners, the designer and manufacturer of Rosatom equipment, the project can not be realized. This should be clear to everyone'', Petkova said. Therefore one of the conditions is that the designer is attracted to the project.

The project was  approved by the European Commission in December 2007. We need to notify the EC about the changes in the investment project, explained Petkova on the coordination with the European Commission.